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I agree. That was presumed on my part.

Yes it does. It saves our hard earned money and keeps out of the pocket of someone who is ineffective. Billionaires get enough handouts, I don't have to participate though.

I get what he is saying to a point but that isnt the point... and I agree with you the mix of player might be different or we could have arrived there in a different way for sure... but to me the concept is to identify those players that you have drafted that are special and build around them... You don't need to look past those players that you actually had like Ullmark who won a Vezina or Oreilly, Montour, Eichel, Reinhardt that played significant leadership roles in cup winning teams to understand that your GM is clueless.. you had a generational player in Eichel that you lost because you wouldn't let him get a surgery that he preferred on his own body... the repercussions of that go farther than the player and move to the type of organization that we are and will be with the next person that wants to make a decision in consultation with their physicians on what is best for them... as opposed to your organizational meat grinder... the lack of ability of the FO to identify when they have those types of players on the team and build around them is one of the major downfalls and reasons for this relegation to the abyss...

My contempt for this owner continues to grow. Why own a franchise if you act as if you don’t care? Aloofness is not a demonstration of caring about your own product. What this reticent owner with a big boat has shown is that the shameless can’t be shamed. I wish he would sail away. I’m so tired of him!

Task 1 for the season: in first game with Flyers, run Michkov and see how they respond.

Here's what I will say about hits. They only capture one form of physicality in the NHL and are not recorded in a regular manner. Zach Benson is credited with 35hits last year but I would not say Zach Benson is not physical. From what I have seen with hits, almost anytime a defender pins a forward along the boards it counts as a hit but all those other physical interactions are lost. I hope the Sabres do a better job of finishing checks and I was shocked to see Clifton's hit totals as I felt he was useless most of the time. Either way, we are less experienced Defense without Joker and Clifton but with Kesselring and Timmins. If we lose Byram, we become even less experienced and I think experience is one of the most necessary things for a defender in the NHL. Adams has done such a poor job of building the defense prior to this year that Jacob Bryson is 2nd on that defense in games played behind Dahlin. That shows you how bad Adams has been and addressing the defense before now. The funny part is now he is in a total panic over it and is over-addressing it. Kesselring, Timmins, JBD, Mrtka, Bedkowski all added in the last 4 months and I understand 2 are draft picks but thats 5 RHD in as many months. We can see what the focus is. Oddly enough in another 3-5 years it could actually pay-off as Mrtka, Bedkowski, Strbak, Kleber, and Komarov mature. Of course pick 3 of the 5 and remember they will play less than 200 NHL games in all likelihood. My money would be on Mrtka, Strbak, and Komarov. Also shoutout to Gavin McCarthy who has a shot and is yet another RHD. The Sabres have taken 6 RHD in the last 3 drafts.

he has never been a number one center and his contract is worse than Powers

This is incorrect. I did the numbers probably the season before last -- everyone fit under their then-current contracts, even Skinner and Ullmark. Post ROR: If you chose to continue the patient build around Eichel, Reinhart, Tage, and Montour (and Dahlin, Ullmark) --- rather than rebuild around Dahlin and EEE --- you probably don't have Power (didn't re-tank and finish last -- or if you did still have that awful season, you'd have bridged him for cost because you were already paying Montour to be 2D/PP2 but at less than Power is making now). You could always have traded for Tuch in a separate deal if you loved him and Granato could've still convinced Adams to trade for Greenway when MIN was selling him with other assets (I'm including because he was acquired with a 2nd from the Eichel deal).

Gilbert was not a hard-working player. An extremely exciting player but never was the 200-foot player he needed to be for the team to win. Contrast him with Yzerman who completely changed his game to become an elite 200 foot player and the team won multiple cups. Your list of top five is particularly good. Do you think Crosby is starting to move up into that discussion? I love the way Crosby plays hockey, but not sure who he would displace. Lemieux maybe based on longevity.

With Byram, our D is still a little younger and a little less-experienced than ideal. Also, as a group they lack a bit of needed anger I remember when Appert coached Samuelsson in Rochester, he described Samuelsson as "nasty to play against". I took that to mean Samuelsson hit everything, was tough in front of the net, was liberal with use of his stick as a weapon, etc. If Samuelsson was 50% of what Appert sold him as, it would go a long way to bridging the nastiness shortage that the blueline has. That said, with Byram or a good veteran replacement, I like our D. Their issues, in my opinion, aren't from a lack of talent or courage or development. I think their issues relate to structure and system.

As I get older I’ve realized that setting high expectations on things over which I have no control is a recipe for a lifetime of frustration. As fans, we can stop buying tickets and merch and scream into the void on social media and message boards, but other than venting, it doesn’t actually do anything, especially when you have ineffective ownership and management. It’s (unfortunately) their expectations that matter most.

The inclusion of Joker and Clifton is an important summary for folks to stay mindful of. Kesselring is physical and he's big -- and he won't run around as much to make hits like Clifton did. But he's not some intimidating, bruising force who is going wreck everyone (fewer hits/game than Muel). Timmins is bigger, but he's less physical and throws fewer hits than Jokiharju did. And Joker was the guy Ruff publicly didn't like and wanted to be more physical (not Power). This doesn't prevent the defense from dramatically improving from last season -- but the defense more dependent on the forwards and goalies than the changes to the D-corps from last year to this. ---- And I like it: Everyone's a year older!

I think some parts of us (all) are broken to a point because we lower our expectations... its hard not to have broken pieces when you are in a relationship that is toxic like this one... yet... I believe one day... when the acrimony gets so intense that there will be a day of reckoning... Pegula will sell the team OR he will attempt at least to take a different path... attempt to hire a FO office that is experienced and competent, a tear down and rebuild will ensue again.... and maybe we have a chance to build something... tweaking in its current state I agree... it could lead to a playoff appearance at some point... but certainly not the success needed to repair the brand... not sure I even want to set that as my low bar of acceptance (although I would be thrilled to watch playoff hockey) I just don't know that minimal success like that gets us to a place where we can truly try to build a relevant team, despite the fact that we really do need to make the playoffs or players are gonna bail... but will that just postpone what we all think needs to happen.... or are we just happy with an odd 1st rd playoff appearance here and there...

Doesn’t have to be with NIL. Terry could’ve offered McKenna 3 million to come to Penn St if he wanted to. Rules have gone out the window in college athletics.

Quite a few do. I saw the Jays play a MLB game in Buffalo. That was fun. Someday I want to see the Sabres win an NHL game in Buffalo. I have a huge losing streak going. It’s over 10 years. Last season I watched them blow a lead to the Kings in an early season game. I started my boycott that night.

Although, I do want the GM to be using the folks around him to identify players they trust and who would fit the direction (if any) of the team. I want him listening to Ruff and Jarmo (Danforth) and Granato... Appert, meh. I'd rather he listen to the hockey guys than to Pegula. It's what Adams spends to acquire or retain them that gets him into real trouble. Just with Malenstyn as an example. A 2nd to attain a 4W is very high (unless he's a proven veteran and you're renting him for the playoffs because you're a contender). Now, Malenstyn was underwhelming last season, but got deployed as 4W instead of how WSH had used him as a 3W in terms of minutes. (And the Sabres revamped 4th + sloppy defense + goaltending meant he was pretty poor overall.)

Many GMs start out as scouts, or coaching, or both. Adams was mostly business administration prior to becoming GM. Which is why him having no advisors until this season was a curious decision that probably hurt him.

We dont agree... although I find it interesting how you say Buffalo isnt a good place to live, then profess to love it there and its people... Accusing me of not paying attention or otherwise being dumb or ill informed because I believe that with the right atmosphere and culture there will be players who would love living in Buffalo, currently do love it and or would be fine with it during the season is also interesting. Using the Bills as an example attracting the best free agents on the market like Paup, Takeo Spikes, Ted Washington, Sam Adams, Billy Brooks, Quinn Early, etc when we contended in the 90's and the Von Millers, Joey Bosa's etc.. currently to illustrate what FO office competence and winning do to snow and taxes doesn't make me think you are dumb or ill informed because you don't think anyone would ever come here or like it... .I simply just don't agree that we are fatalistically doomed because of our Geography and that there is a path to success... despite the lack of glamour...You don't... ok... hey, its your opinion fair enough.. You don't think any top players would think Buffalo is a worthy destination if we were an up and coming team... with a competent functional FO with a plan... ok, fair enough... I do.. I think there are people who love it in Buffalo... and find it a great place to make a home... others will not... some folks will find LA or NY to be a great place to live... others will not... just my opinion... I read your reaction to my posts as stated above as if I am some kind of an ill informed naive fool... and hey again, your opinion.. think what you need too... but to disparage posters with what I am interpreting as condescension because they don't think like you is your personal choice... I choose not to do that, because I like others opinions... learn from them, gain different perspective... and again we disagree on that.

Too many folks mentioned it for me to go and find all the quotes - but I don't buy the "Sabres are losing money" bit for one single second. I've posted it before, but many sources (CNBC, Forbes, etc) all put the 2023/24 Sabres (last year of data) as cashflow positive. One estimated a net operating profit of over $13M and another had their EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of $15.8M. The two seem to jive given the franchise has no real debt and if the owner is responsible for maintenance of the stadium, I presume they get to depreciate that asset on the business taxes. The talk of someone worth north of $7B scrimping on $5M for his hobby team just does not sound realistic to me. That same year the Bills had a net operating income of over $100M. Even just Pegula Sports or whatever would view the total of the teams. Sure, no one likes losing money (which he is not), but with all his proclaimed love for hockey, etc etc - it does not pass the sniff test. Could he be wary of big name free agents after some pretty spectacular swings and misses? Sure. Isn't the joke around the league that bad decisions happen on July 1? There is also very little logic to the new Bills stadium argument. Again, this is a business, not a person. With steady operating income over $100M, there is no way T-Pegs is not financing a majority of the construction costs. Why? If you had $7B in business assets that probably give you a consistent return in excess of 10% per year - would you cash out a sizeable chunk of that money to avoid a 6% (guessing) construction loan? Heck no. I bet even with a $1B loan against the stadium, the Bills remain cash flow positive. The $1B he got from selling 20% ... he did not use that for the stadium, lol - he invested it somewhere to get more in annual returns than the cost of the loan. Also, some portion of that loan has got to be helping the bottom line on the team's taxes. Cash poor is a total myth that we, the fanbase, have made up and internalized to ease our suffering. T-Pegs could get a low-interest $1B loan faster than most people on this board could a $30k loan to buy a car.

Just so much evidence that Adams has no original thoughts. Malestyn was Apperts because AHL playoffs. Greenway was Granato because coached him before. This random plug from Lindy. This is probably how a lot of NHL guys operate because it is the old boys club but man, Adams hasn't heard an idea one of his coaches has without liking it.

Just like major league pro sports, minor league pro sports pay football and basketball more. I wonder how much of the 700K due to Pegula.

Dahlin is a solid all around defensemen. Byram I wasn't impressed with, sometimes he looked like he could be on Dahlin's level and sometimes he looked like he belonged on the 3rd pairing, very inconsistent. I don't need every guy to throw around the body but I was wanting more. Power is good offensively but is terrible on defense, how can you be a defensemen and literally suck at the part that's in your job title? I'm not a fan at all. Micahel Kesselring seems like a great fit, since I didn't watch many Utah games at all I've been watching Youtube videos and he looks exactly what we needed, a big, rugged, hitting, fighting, stand up for your teammates, defensive defensemen. Samuelsson is definitely regressing, he should be what Kesselring is by now but he doesn't score, doesn't hit, doesn't fight, doesn't stick up for teammates, doesn't play defense well which makes him a perfect fit for what the Sabres are. Timmins is going on his 6th team now since 2019, he offers absolutely 0 offense, he's a plus player which is good, he seems to be a slight defensive upgrade from Clifton but it comes with the expense of hitting. Essentially everything I'm reading is that he's connor Clifton without the toughness or hitting so why didn't we just keep Jacob Bernard-Docker? We didn't do enough on defense imo, not even close. Samuelsson should be gone either by trade or buyout (Samuelsson should have been dealt along with a 2nd to Pittsburgh). This team operates like it's been to the Stanley Cup finals each season yet with only minimum upgrades. Why not go out and find the best 3rd pairing defensive defensmen to pair with Timmins and trade Samuelsson or buy him out? If Byram comes in at a bargain and we don't spend some money anywhere else then this was obviously just a cost cutting year again for Buffalo. My solution would be to trade Byram and get your top 6 forward and use our 1st (protected) next year and go out and get a guy like Rasmus Anderson (but sign him before he comes here) who from what I have seen and read is about the same player as Byram but I must say that -38 last year looks really nasty for Anderson, I don't know why his line was scored on so drastically but I think him paired with Dahlin would help out alot.

Hard to tell what goes on in a clubhouse without being there.

It's all revenue driven.